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Today was another dull one with little sun after 10 a.m. This morning we took a motorised stroll through the forest
and brunched at Hyde-Out Café where I enjoyed a tastefully presented full English.
Just outside Bashley the first bunch of cyclists began disrupting the traffic.
Someone had recently lobbed food packaging into the stream crossing Holmsley Passage, along which we passed the resident of
the modern house that was once the site of the crossing keeper’s cottage.
At Burley ponies had been engaged to mow the outfield of the cricket green.
Some took a break,
and, for one, the task had become all too exhausting.
It being the grockle season, only the narrower lanes like Braggers were free of cyclists and other cars designed to send drivers onto the verges.
More common were crocodiles like these escorted children wobbling along
opposite the irises blooming in Whitemoor Pond.
Mauve foxgloves stood proudly erect all over the forest.
On the slopes on other side of the road leading into Bolderwood, where the first two of these pictures were taken, wild orchids clustered among the curling ferns.
Someone had lobbed a bottle into this lovely landscape.
Logging had been carried out in the vicinity of this stump with its moss-covered exposed roots.
The A31, that bisected the forest into North and South, spans the road through Bolderwood, bringing the modern world into stark contrast with the historic home of this equine family whose ancestors grazed the forest floors for centuries.
One of two riders crossing the heath on the other side of the main thoroughfare gave me a pleasant smile, after which we exchanged waves.
For our dinner this evening Jackie produced tasty chicken thighs marinaded in lemon and herbs and roasted with peppers; boiled potatoes, carrots, and green beans.
It’s always a great visual treat to make an outing with you, Derrick❣️ And what a meal Jackie came up with, mouthwatering. 👍🏻👏🏻
Many thanks, Dina
‘Grockle Season’ makes me laugh out loud! <3
Many thanks, Pauline
Ι am always there along for the visual ride! Another exquisite set of shots accompanied by engagingly apt commentary! What a treat for the weekend! Thank you again and again!
Very many thanks, Sofia
Picture postcard perfect photographs today, Derrick! And for once you have me wanting breakfast at breakfast time 🙂
🙂 I hope you enjoyed your breakfast, Mary. Thank you.
Ummm, bacon and eggs with sour dough bread for toast, I think 🙂
Ugh – liter makes me nuts. What kind of person thinks it’s OK to toss their waste like that? But that breakfast made me feel better. Yum.
Thanks, Jodie. Litter-pickers are actually employed to gather it up along the major roadsides.
Breakfast looks good.
I joined the Mayor of Blackburn’s Anti-Litter League when I was a kid (about 1962 I think). As a result of promising not to drop litter 55 yeas ago I have always been anti-litter.
Get them young and they won’t grow up to drop litter.
Thanks a lot, Quercus. We need a few Wombles
That is an entertaining mental picture…
Such beautiful horses!
Thanks very much, Jill
I like the ponies always, the ferns framing the wild orchids and enjoyed your lovely “full English.” The meal with lemon herbed chicken thighs with vegetables sounds even more scrumptious, Derrick.
Very many thanks, Robin
That brunch looks yum. Love the nature photos too Derrick.
It is a fascinating account as usual. The link sent me to the detailed post on crossing keeper’s cottage, and the consuming obsession with profit at the cost of services. But then that is how the Milo Minderbinders of the corporate world would have it.
Quite. Thanks very much, Uma
Bike riders seem t be the same the world over. Selfish road users!
Here they are taught to occupy as much of the road as they can – it’s called ‘defensive’!!
but doesn’t matter how offensive?????????
Quite
There are some really ignorant louts throwing litter about in some of the most beautiful places. It makes me wonder how their minds work, if at all.
It goes like this: ‘I don’t want it in my car. I’ll lob it out the window. What’s beautiful about a load of trees anyway?’
I love horses and country roads, but hate litter. Seems you covered it all in today’s post!
Thanks very much, Diane
I enjoy your photo chronicles–the good and the bad, Derrick. The flowers are lovely, and the horse lying down in the field (with your comment) made me laugh.
Many thanks, Merril
That poor horse sprawled out across the green looks really winded! It made me smile 🙂 I also never knew there were feral ponies in England – then again, I saw some really stocky ponies when I was in a bus riding through Manchester four years ago, and they seemed too wild-looking to be domesticated stock.
Thanks, Moony. The New Forest is a particular location for this – very ancient custom.
Thank you for the photos, the moss covered stump looks very interesting 🙂
Thank you, Lakshmi. I’m glad you liked that one
I always enjoy seeing the ponies, lying down or standing up! You live in a very beautiful place, Derrick and Jackie!
Littering is a problem here too. We are always pulling someones bottles, papers and junk out of the front yard.
Many thanks, Lavinia. We are very fortunate
I especially like “the historic home of this equine family whose ancestors grazed the forest floors for centuries.” And Jackie’s chicken with lemon and herbs has given me an idea for our supper this week.
Many thanks, Laurie. I look forward to a report on the chicken. I am very pleased that you picked up that line.
Great juxtaposition of the beauty of nature . . . and the nasty things we humans do it.
Many thanks, Kerry